Eat First, Chew Later

The Alternative Thanksgiving

2011-11-20T17:16:00.015-07:00

Don't let the title scare you too much. I'm not referring to an event where Pilgrims and Indians dress like each other or something more awful like, Tofurkey. An alternative Thanksgiving is something I want to suggest to many of you planning your Thanksgiving menu. I've ranted before about the food at Thanksgiving and how sad it is. Of course, I will rant again.

Thanksgiving is a tradition and, like many traditions, we've changed nothing. I'm not talking about drastically altering the menu so that it in no way resembles the autumn food fest catering to overeating Americans. I am merely suggesting that we upgrade the menu. Turkey is kind of bland, but you can dress it up. Cranberry sauce????? Why? I could go on with what's not working, but let's figure out how we can improve on some of the outdated dishes.

What to do with cranberry sauce? I have always been disgusted with the cranberry sauce and the lines from the can it comes in. My thought has always been to eliminate it completely. However, I saw a great use for cranberries. Check out this idea that looks to be a great utilization for appetizers. Next up is the green bean casserole. I don't hate this one as much as cranberry sauce but when everything generally comes from a can, it's tough to like it. My previous idea was to just ensure that all ingredients were fresh. Fresh green beans and fresh onions, but you still have the issue of the cream of mushroom. Same place that had the great idea for the cranberries came up with this for green beans. I would revise the mayo to be more truffle based to capture the use of mushrooms, or you could go for a wild mushroom aioli. For stuffing, I think it's best to start with a high quality bread that already has a lot of flavor, like a rosemary Focaccia. The sweet potato substance always makes me sad. The mix of sweet potatoes, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, marshmallow, topped with some nuts seems odd and rather gross. My revision? Sweet potato gnocchi! For the sauce, you could do a brown butter sauce and mix in some cinnamon and maybe some maple syrup. If you're dead set on nuts, you could candy some and add them afterwards. My only personal change to mashed potatoes are to use Yukon Gold not Russet. I recently discovered that Yukon Gold are far better than Russet. They produce a sweeter, silkier mash. For dessert, how about some pumpkin pie? Does the texture of pumpkin pie turn you off? Try my inside out, upside down pumpkin. I've included the recipe at the bottom of this post.

It's okay to change. Don't fear mixing up the Thanksgiving menu. Sure you'll anger some moms out there, but once they realize that everything is still there, just in different form, they'll probably forgive you. . . many years later. Enjoy your Thanksgiving and please post any other ideas you might have for a different menu.

Upside-Down, Inside-Out Pumpkin Pie

26 ounces canned pumpkin
6 whole eggs
10 ounces granulated sugar
4 ounces brown sugar
½ ounce corn starch
½ teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon nutmeg
½ teaspoon ginger
pinch salt
20 ounces milk
2 ounces heavy cream

1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Mix pumpkin filling and eggs thoroughly. Combine all dry ingredients together and sift so there are no lumps. Add sifted dry ingredients to pumpkin mixture and mix well. Gradually add the milk and cream. Pour into 4-ounce bomb molds. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until set in the center.

2.Once cooled and set, using a food syringe, inject the center of the mold with whip cream.

BEETS!

2011-11-01T21:31:00.005-06:00

Remember the beets that were indistinguishable from cranberry sauce in a can? You know, the "way too red" blobs or slices? I remember, as a kid, my grandfather eating beets on his salad and urging me to try them. After one taste, I quickly spit the rest out of my mouth and vowed never again. Never again would I put those weird roots in my mouth -- those roots that taste like dirt and were actually used to dye clothes back in the day. Really? Why would I seek out a food that was used to make red dresses? Beets me!! (No more beet jokes. I don't want to beet them to death. Okay, now that was the last beet joke)

Yes, beets don't have the best PR campaign. However, knowing that they could convert an anti-beetite like me, I think it's time for a resurgence. It all started in 2010, in Yountville, CA. The restaurant was Ad Hoc. The dish was a homegrown salad with golden beets (see below pic).

When I saw that beets were in the salad, I was indifferent. My wife, also an anti-beetite, took the first bite and immediately asked what the little yellow diced items were. Having never consumed golden beets, I had to assume that's what it was. They were delightful, and we couldn't get enough of them. I was shocked that something I once hated was so delicious. What else was I missing? Was the stem of broccoli now tasty (it isn't)? It's almost as if I had been lied to this whole time. My wife and I have now embraced beets, looking for ways to incorporate them into dishes and seeking them out on restaurant menus.

Is there a food that you might have been afraid of when you were younger? Perhaps it's time to take another look at it. You might be surprised at what you've been missing.

Beet Green Salad with Warm Goat Cheese and Figs (+Scallops over Grilled Corn Off the Cob)

DVR and the Slow Food Movement

2011-09-19T20:43:00.006-06:00

DVRs, Apple TV, Hulu, and Netflix streaming are all drastically changing the way we watch TV. Gone are the days when you’d rush home to catch an episode of Seinfeld or even try to properly time your bathroom or refrigerator trips. It’s becoming rarer that you are left out of a conversation at work if you didn’t watch a show live the previous night. Fortunately, many of us utilize one of these services to allow us to watch TV on our time. We don’t need to schedule our evening around the final episode of Seinfeld (If you haven’t already noticed, Seinfeld is my TV show of reference due to its popularity at a time in which DVRs did not exist.). Only sporting events keep us chained to our televisions because who would want to watch a sporting event after it already happened? Many people are cutting cable altogether in part, to save money and also to save time. One of my friends who recently parted ways with cable said he realized how often he would just have the TV on to watch something that he didn’t really even care about. Perhaps not having limitless choices would help one actually filter out all of the junk that you don’t really need to watch (there’s a related joke here about the Cheesecake Factory menu, but I can’t nail it down).

By now, you might be questioning why I am on a seemingly random crusade against cable. There is no hidden agenda to rid you of cable or your satellite, but more of a question as to how this applies to our eating habits or how it should apply to our eating habits. We’ve established that DVRs, and the like, have created more time for us, as it relates to TV. With this free time and no need to rush home or rush at the dinner table, how will you handle it? How will the US handle it? In theory, shouldn’t this allow us more time to enjoy our food? We can prepare food at home without worrying that we are missing something funny that Franklin said to Bash (please note that the humor is never intentional). Good food takes time. It takes an investment involving some planning and prepping of ingredients. TV dinners should have been cancelled several seasons ago. How much more shame do you need than sticking your meal repeatedly with a fork before shoving it into the microwave? We now have time to eat better and eat right. For what reason, other than laziness, do you need to visit the drive thru when you shouldn’t be short on time? People consistently argue that they do not have time to eat better or prepare food, but I believe you do have the time. Perhaps there is a fear or intimidation or maybe you’ve been burned or more accurately, the dish has been burned. Practice does make perfect and we’ve now established that there is more time available to practice. Make this important.

Italy, Part 2

2011-07-02T12:36:00.005-06:00

Now I know school lunches can be a political topic and somewhat of a sensitive subject. I have no interest in going there. This is not a political post, but something that is line with what I normally discuss. As previously mentioned I was recently in Italy and had the opportunity to take a wonderful food tour. One tends to learn a lot about a culture when being guided around by someone who has lived in that culture almost their entire life. This being a food tour, my questions revolved around food. I am continually intrigued with the differences of food habits between the US and Europe. I asked a little bit about obesity and childhood obesity and whether it was a problem in Italy. Surprisingly, our guide, Eleonora, said it had been, but they were taking steps to improve that. Lunches at school had fallen into a somewhat unhealthy routine. Kids were eating poorly, and, of course, it was contributing to some weight issues.

What was the solution to curb these habits and find a healthy alternative? It turns out the solution was there the whole time. The kids simply adopted what the adults had been doing for centuries. Following the season and embracing freshness. Eleonora told me what a menu might look like, and it made me wish I was Billy Madison headed back to elementary school. Local ingredients are key, as is variety. The big question is how this is paid for. I imagine the government steps in at some point, but they use the previous year’s income of the parents to determine how much each parent has to pay. Our guide said she has to pay €40/month. That’s not a bad price to pay, less than $3/day. Unfortunately, our current system has opted not to get that creative. We feel it’s better to monitor what’s eaten, but not really do anything about it. Check this story out. In my birthplace of San Antonio, they opt to photograph what is being consumed than actually control what is available. Why not make quality a priority? Is it possible if kids ate better at school, they might demand better food at home?

As a parent, I claim to know what’s best for my kid. Parents should know what’s best. Childhood obesity can be called a pandemic or some other awful pattern, however it is ridiculously easy to combat. Stop being lazy! We can control what our kids consume. Freshness is always a smart option, and it shouldn’t be that hard to figure out what’s healthy. I’m not asking the government to step in and limit available food options. If you’re an adult, and you don’t know the difference between healthy and unhealthy food, you’ll probably die early from crossing a busy highway. I do think, however, it is beneficial to limit what is provided to kids at school. Is it such a terrible thing if we start producing mini food snobs?

Italy, part 1

2011-05-13T21:39:00.002-06:00

I recently enjoyed a trip to Italy, and as you all can imagine, I enjoyed the food as well. I made some observations, some were new and some were reinforced. Please indulge me as I explore some of these observations and detail how they differ from the States.

1. Duration of meals
This is my favorite point and one that I'm sure I've beaten to death. Will that stop me from revisiting? Of course not. I love the fact that I can sit at a restaurant as long as I want without being pressured to leave. Sadly, this is point of contention for many Americans. I have never been to Europe without overhearing an American complaining about how long it takes to get the bill. Americans are notoriously the biggest complainers in Europe. We can't stand something that's different from what we are familiar with. Oddly, we get angry when we are left alone. All we need to understand is that you have to ask for your bill if you want to pay. Italy does not operate like the US where they leave the bill before you're done eating. The Italians don't want to interrupt your meal, but apparently Americans are more comfortable with being pushed out the door. I find it very peaceful to slowly eat a meal, enjoy conversation with the people at your table and not have frequent visits from the waiter checking to see if everything is okay. Isn't it better on your digestive system to not inhale your food or eat from a trough?

2. Cappuccino time
Speaking of your digestive system, I learned something new about the espresso habits of Italians. On our last trip to Italy, I did learn that is very rare for Italians to drink a cappuccino after 10 or 11 in the morning. For the most part, it's only foreigners who order it later in the day, even after their dinner. It's somewhat frowned upon and one restaurant would not serve it to us after dinner. However, with the large amount of tourists, they have become used to this unusual custom. What crazy reason would the Italians have for not partaking in their delicious beverage at any hour? Apparently, it's both crazy and genius. You know when you take a look at the Grand Canyon and you can see all of the layers of different rock? Well, the Italians take that same view on a micro level of the stomach. First off, cappuccinos are not light. Any time you involve milk, you're getting something kind of heavy. Also, as any one who is lactose intolerant will tell you, milk does not delicately move through the digestive system. You don't want something heavy spoiling your appetite for the rest of the day, especially when you have the chance to eat some amazing Italian food for dinner. You also don't want something so uneasy sitting on top of the other items you've consumed. It will not make for an easy digestion process.

3. Eating with the seasons
At some of the better restaurants in the US, you see menus that follow the seasons. Some restaurants change their menus every month. This is nothing new to Italians. Since they don't have tons of Super-markets or Costco's, they're used to buying whatever is available at their local outdoor market. Farmers are selling whatever is growing at the time and that's also what's on the menus. They don't expect to eat artichokes in January, whereas Americans want whatever they want whenever they want it. We are impatient with our food, whether it is related to ingredient availability or waiting on our meal to arrive. Embracing the concept of following the seasons allows you to find fresher products and makes the anticipation of each new season rather exciting.

5. Bread?

A lot of the restaurants we went to put bread on our table. You might initially think, "yeah, what's the big deal?" The deal is that they charged us for the bread. The bread was not optional even if we refused to consume one tiny morsel. We initially thought we shouldn't touch it until we found that they charged you no matter what. I blame America. We need bread before our meal. Why, I do not know? Apparently we need to stuff our faces with starch and butter all before the good stuff arrives. They've learned that they can throw bread on the table, no matter how awful, and we'll scarf it down.

Europe may appear to be behind us in fashion, at times, behind us in technology, yet they can smack us around the kitchen. We need to follow their lead when it comes to food. Stay tuned for the next post to see where we should start.

Service Complainer

2011-04-07T18:48:00.002-06:00

Have you ever been out to eat with that guy? You know, that "guy." Or maybe you've been at a table near that guy. To who am I referring? It's the guy (or lady) who is always unhappy about the service. The guy who thinks the waitstaff at Outback should treat him like he's at multi-Michelin starred restaurant. Once seated, he is looking around for the waiter and talking about the service. He never makes eye contact with his waiter and treats them like they are the lowest member of the caste system. He asks for more water, but "with less ice this time, pal." Oh yeah, he always uses pal or chief or some other demeaning nickname for this low-life serving him. These people write horrible reviews of restaurants but rarely mention the food. They focus on the servers, how long it took them to get their food, or how cold the restaurant was. Things people really don't care about. I wish this guy wouldn't eat out. He seems to never enjoy his meal. I also want to be a waiter for the sole reason of asking what country he is king of, and always serve his food with a bow or curtsy. No one is this important. Waiters are not your personal servants or butlers. They work on tips, the tip of 13% he leaves.

Oh yeah, he also treats flight attendants like his waiter in the sky. If your this guy, stay at home, unless you're married. In that case, your wife probably wants you out of the house often because you're constantly complaining about dinner and the cleanliness of the house. If you see this guy, punch him for me.

Onions

2011-03-26T15:26:00.005-06:00

It's probably happened to some of you. You're eagerly waiting for your hamburger or sandwich and take a big first bite, only to be unexpectedly greeted with an abnormal crunch and some pungent flavor. "Oh no," you say, "Did I forget to say no onions?" You look under the bread only to see onions cut into a nice brunoise. Of course they're not the big slices you can easily pull off the bun. If you're nodding your head right now, you're one of us, you are an anti-onionian. For the rest of you, anti-onionians are people who carefully scan the menu to see if a dish, particularly hamburgers and sandwiches, have onions. If so, they exercise their rights as a diner to demand that no onions be placed on said dish. Generally, anti-onionians have only one request, "No Onions." These are usually not high-maintenance customers who place an order like Meg Ryan in When Harry Met Sally.

At this point you're wondering why on earth are you writing about something as trivial as onions? Why you ask? Why? Because I am an Anti-Onionian! Wow, it felt good to put that out there. It's time someone said something. It's time to take a stand for all of the other Anti-Onionians out there. Questions need to be answered and myths need to be debunked.

Question: If you don't like them, why not just pick them off?

A: Okay, this is just what my family used to tell me when I was little and we'd order the supreme pizza. This always drove me crazy, as I enjoy a simple pizza, not some salad buffet topped pizza. If the slices of onion are more like the size of the red onion slices, it's an easy removal process. However, if they chop them up in the little cubes and hide them in the cheese, it becomes a restorative pizza project. Just when you think you have removed them all, you bite into an onion using a pepperoni slice as an umbrella. This applies to sandwiches and hamburgers as well. While they frequently have the cheese issue, you also run into the mayonnaise and mustard being used as an adhesive to keep the onions from being removed like some warning tag on the underside of a couch cushion. If I don't like them, how about I ask you to leave them off? What if I were allergic? Maybe we need onions to be treated like peanuts.

Myth: You Anti-Onionians are too small of a voice to make a difference.

How dare you! We are a lot larger than you may think. I can't tell you how many times I've been out to eat in a group and have had everyone request no onions. Unfortunately, there are no statistics out there to resolve this debate. One would think that if the majority don't prefer onions in this environment, they would be relegated to the 'optional topping' category. If any action were to come from this post, my request would be that people would have to ask for onions rather than ask that they be excluded.

Question & Myth: You're an alleged "foodie," yet you don't want onions around? You are a fraud!

First off, name-calling is not necessary. I am no fraud, and I don't want onions eradicated from all dining establishments. I respect the flavor and depth that onions can provide. Finely chopped onions sautéed in olive oil are a fantastic start to many sauces, especially a great tomato sauce. In fact, if I am including them, I usually chop them superfine so I don't encounter an unsavory onion cube. The finely chopped onion can quickly dissolve into the sauce, which adds the depth without the crunch. In some circumstances, I keep them large, so they're easy to remove.

Anti-Onionians, stand up and let your voice be heard! Do not accept that disappointing crunch that shocks you with your first bite. Don't let onions become the standard topping on a sandwich or a hamburger. Chant with me, hold the onions! Hold the onions! Hold the onions!

Le Bernadin!

2011-03-06T17:26:00.009-07:00

I lucked into having the chance to visit one of the best restaurants in the world (#11, to be exact, as voted by Restaurant Magazine). As soon as I learned of a business trip to NYC, I decided I would make the most of this opportunity with a highly desired reservation. It didn't matter that the best time they could get me in was 9:45 on the night I flew in, I would have taken an even later time. The unfortunate thing about such a late reservation was the time spent waiting for it to show up. I tried to not psyche myself out about how the food would be. I didn't want to expect the best meal of my life only to be let down by anything less. I ate very little that day, in fact I'm not sure I ate at all. What would be the point? Tray tables down? Seat backs. . . back? Let's go.

Eric Ripert's, Le Bernadin, is well-known for being a top restaurant, but it's an even more known for having amazing seafood. If you come here for anything but, you'll be disappointed. After quite a bit of internal debate (I was dining alone), I went with the Le Bernadin tasting menu. I've listed photos of the courses, in order, below. I apologize for the quality. They were taken on my cell phone without the use of a flash. I refused to create even more attention for myself as a loser, eating alone, using the flash on his phone. First course was Layers of Thinly Pounded Yellowfin Tuna; Toasted Baguette; Shaved Chives and Extra Virgin Olive Oil. The presentation was amazing on this course, as it was on most, but I loved the delicate flavor here. It was very similar to eating sushi and the texture of the baguette was a nice contrast to the pounded tuna. It was probably my second favorite course. Next was the Charred Octopus; Fermented Black Bean - Pear Sauce Vierge; Ink - Miso Vinaigrette; Purple Basil. Seeing this course on the menu almost made me choose something else, but I figured, why not. The flavors were quite surprising, in a pleasant way. You could taste the char on the octopus, but not overwhelmingly. It kind of had a chicken consistency, not rubbery, which means it was cooked beyond perfectly. The fermented black bean was sweet and complimented the char flavor. Next was the Warm Lobster Carpaccio; Hearts of Palm, Orange Vinaigrette. Pretty hard for me to not like lobster, and this was no exception. The sauce on this was quite savory and there was pickled ginger and shaved fennel that served as a nice contrast to the buttery lobster. Then, I had the Seared Yellowtail King Fish; Truffle Risotto, Baby Vegetables, Black Truffle Emulsion. This was my favorite course. The fish was cooked medium rare and had so much flavor. Plus, the combination of the truffle emulsion and the truffle risotto was fantastic. I debated about asking for a second. This was followed with the Crispy Black Bass; Lup Cheong and Beansprout “Risotto” Mini Steamed Buns, Hoisin-Plum Jus. The flavors of this were definitely Asian-inspired, as can be seen in the name. The fish was delicately moist with a nice crispy layer. Moving towards dessert, I had the Parsnip Crème Brulée, Roasted Hazelnut, Browned Milk Solids, Vanilla Salt. The desserts were not anything special, and while I appreciated the art of this dish, it was kind of bland. Almost done with the Maralumi Milk Chocolate Parfait, Liquid Pear, Gingersnap. I liked this more than I thought I would. I really would love to know how they made the liquid pear. It had the appearance of a pear, but broke like an egg yolk over the parfait. It gave the dish a nice clean pear flavor. I couldn't tell you what the next two dishes were as I didn't take good notes, and they weren't on the menu. One was some sort of multi-layered chocolate mousse served in a hollowed out egg. The presentation was stunning, and the flavor wasn't bad. Sadly, I got excited and squeezed the egg shell instead of the dish as I scooped out the bottom. The waitress did inform me that about 50% of people have the same problem. I think she was lying. Lastly was kind of thank you dish of small chocolates. I can't remember what any of them were, but they were good.

To sum it up, yes, it was one of the best meals I have ever had. The best. . . I'm not sure. However, I do believe it deserves to be one of the best restaurants in the world. Dessert wasn't exciting, but it rarely is at some of these nicer places. I don't know why that tends to be the case, but I'd rather have a good dinner and a mediocre dessert than the other way around. Take some time, find a great restaurant in your area and attack it!

You Can Be Fresh With Me!

2011-02-25T23:39:00.010-07:00

Fresh is better, period. You can't argue with it. You can give a number of excuses about how it's more difficult or it's more time consuming or it's more expensive, but you can't argue that it's not better. This is why I hate having to stick up for myself for choosing to eat exclusively at restaurants that embrace freshness. Am I a snob for preferring to take my edaciousness to a restaurant that elevates its ingredients? Were those who chose to travel by car over the horse jeered as they drove by? Were people referred to as "soap snobs" who embraced bathing regularly? I have said, and will say again, that the fuel you put in your body should be of high quality. It's tough to argue against that.

With my rant now complete, I offer you our recent fresh journey with homemade pasta! Don't roll your eyes, you can easily do it in your own home. It's best to have a pasta maker, but a rolling pin could get the job done. All you need is about 500 grams of semolina flour, a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil, and 5 eggs. In the video below, you can get the gist of how you mix it all together. For a simple sauce, I used some canned, peeled, whole San Marzano tomatoes, high quality extra virgin olive oil (is there any other level?), mozzarella, basil, and some garlic. Saute the garlic in the olive oil until just brown, then add your tomatoes and basil. Cook those until the juice from the tomatoes has almost completely evaporated. Once your sauce is ready, add it to your cooked pasta along with the mozzarella. For the mozzarella, I suggest those little mozzarella pearls, not grated. You don't want some lousy grated mozzarella ruining the taste of your fresh pasta. Now you've accomplished an amazing food feat.

Please note that the video below was shot during an eclipse, which should explain the odd shadows that occur from time to time. I could've looked up to witness this historic event, but I kept my head down and stuck with it. Make pasta this weekend and tell people all about it all of next week. You'll then witness the look that I normally receive.

I'm Back!

2011-02-21T18:26:00.002-07:00

Yes, that's right, I'm back! Better than ever. Improved. Upgraded. Renewed. Renovated. Enough with the thesaurus. I've sorted through so much fan mail, e-mail, video mail, and chain mail requesting that this blog be continued. Requesting that I guide people in their search to become more interested in the fuel they put into their bodies. I will give you one post per week, minimum.

What's coming up next? Make your own pasta and gnocchi, chef interviews (hopefully), reviews of some great restaurants, an Italy trip, and last but not least, my familiar rantings. Please stay tuned, you will not be disappointed, unless you're easily disappointed. If you are, stop following blogs.

5280 Rant!

2010-03-13T16:22:00.008-07:00

Perhaps it's been too long, but I'm back, I'm back with a vengeance. For those of you unfamiliar with 5280/Denver Restaurant Week, it's a week-long (or two weeks) celebration of local restaurants. Many of the restaurants offer a menu for $52.80 per couple. What's great about this time period is that it gets people out there enjoying some of the better restaurants in Denver. $52.80 per couple is a steal at many of these places, and you might try a restaurant that you would otherwise be hesitant to try. One could make the argument that it is like the Black Friday for restaurants, which is partially why it has been extended to two week the past couple of years. At the better restaurants in town, reservation are very hard to find. Anyways, you know how much I enjoy this time of year, read the reviews. Now it's time to rant.

Rant #1: The "Too-good-for-Restaurant-Week" Restaurant. I'm not referring to the restaurants that opt not to participate in this exciting culinary fortnight. This is for the restaurants that, for some reason, feel pressured to join in. If you're going to partake, you better bring it. Do we need to send the sassy cheerleader from Compton in Bring it On to force them to bring their A game? I'm calling out Frank Bonanno, chef/owner of Mizuna, Luca D'Italia, and Bones. These restaurants are highly rated, each of them made the top 25 in 5280's recent article. Unfortunately, he provides very weak menus at each restaurant during this week. Two main entree courses at Mizuna and Luca D'Italia and only one at Bones. All offered a very weak dessert. Really, Chef? Don't bother. I would love to try each of these places, but not with such a 'blah' menu. Give people a reason to come back outside of restaurant week.

Rant #2: The "You don't even have real chefs" Restaurant. Restaurant Week is a time where people should be trying restaurants they wouldn't normally go to, not restaurants that specialize in horrible commercials. Someone needs to serve as the Czar of Restaurant Week (Please nominate me). I would like to call each of these restaurants out by name: Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. (runs Forrest runs, I got the runs!), Carrabba's Italian Grill (mmmmm, slightly better than Olive Garden, that wasn't a compliment), Hacienda Colorado (who spends a lot of money on Mexican food? not Mexicans), Hard Rock Cafe (does that include a free t-shirt?), Lodo's Bar & Grill (I hope several buckets of beer are included), Nick-N-Willy's Take-N-Bake Pizza (really? $52.80 and I still have to make my own pizza. . . thanks), Outback Steakhouse (wow, it's called Outback, so you know where to run to throw up), P.F. Chang's China Bistro (Bistro is French, but the food is Chinese? I don't get this), Pappadeaux Seafood Kitchen (how many things stuffed inside a fish will $52.80 get me?), Pizza Republica (if pizza is in your name then you are ripping people off), Rio Grande Restaurant (go talk to Hacienda), Rock Bottom Restaurant & Brewery (show up here and you've hit Rock Bottom), Saltgrass Steakhouse (how creative, let's name it after what the cows eat and what goes on the steak), Ted's Montana Grill (thanks Ted Turner for finding a new way to rip people off!), The Dusty Boot Steakhouse & Saloon (Dusty Boot? name it after something clean if you want me to eat here), The Melting Pot (fondue? 1970 called and it wants its restaurant back), Wingin' It (if you spend $52.80 on wings, that pain in your arm means you're having a heart attack), Wynkoop Brewing Company ($52.80 gets you three courses and a ticket to their comedy club, but they'll be laughing at you, not with you).

Rant #3: Snotty waiters during 5280. I've had little experience with nasty waiters during this time, as I believe many are thankful for the great increase in business. However, I did hear one story that angered me greatly. A couple went out to the Melting Pot last year and the waiter said how he hated 5280 week due to the number of people who only tip off of the $52.80 amount. Really??!! Are you serious??!! That's how much it costs. Since when do I make up how much I think this might have cost and tip you off of that? There are no coupons or BOGO deals during 5280 week. Plus, it's the Melting Pot. People dip tiny pieces of meat in hot oil. What's the cost of materials on 2 oz of filet and 3 shrimp? $5? Please, get over yourself.

Trust me when I say that 5280 week is my favorite week of the year. I had to get that those things off my chest. Now where did I put my toast for my escargot?

Snooze Review

2009-09-27T20:23:00.001-06:00

I really think they did a great job of naming this place. Out of all the buttons on an alarm clock, they chose the one that sounds hip. Volume or Tuner wouldn't have made sense. Keep in mind that you're going to have to wait at least 8-10 slaps of the Snooze button before you get seated. We knew this going in, so we weren't upset about having to wait 40 minutes, which was shorter than the hour they quoted us. As for the facilities available to wait in, they're not good, but name a restaurant that is enjoyable to wait at. Restaurants rarely devote any money to the waiting area. Why should they, you still have to wait. At least you aren't naked sitting on butcher paper.
We were seated at the counter and warmly greeted by the waitress/bartender. She gave us a great rundown of the menu and explained that they were really flexible in how you're food was made. If you wanted a half order, done. Small portion of a pancake, done. I appreciated the willingness to make it your way. I enjoyed a fresh squeezed orange juice while my wife had the vanilla latte. She was impressed at how flavorful it was, about as good as Starbucks. I didn't want to order pancakes, particularly because most places serve their pancakes dry and too heavy. The wife informed me that all the reviews said the pancakes were worth it. I went with the half-order of the BBQ Pork Benny and the cinnamon roll pancake (not on the menu) and the Colorado peach ginger pancake.
The BBQ Pork Benny was certainly unique and full of different flavors. I enjoyed it but wouldn't order it again. Holy crap on the pancakes. I don't know what they put in them, but the waitress compared them to crack. While I'm aware of crack's addictive nature, I've never partaken in the aforementioned substance. Let's just say that from now on, when something is so good and addictive, I'm going to say it's like a Snooze pancake. Seriously, clouds, pillows, puppies and other things soft were like the consistency of these pancakes. The flavor was out of this world.
You want to hear something negative? I had to wait 10 minutes + for my water to be refilled. While the service was friendly, it was kind of like they gushed when you were seated but didn't come back much after that. Obviously the wait sucks, but it should tell you something. You don't have to wait for something horrible. So wake up once your alarm goes off and head down to Snooze, though it might be apropos to hit snooze a couple of times and dream a little more about their pancakes.

Olivea Review

2009-09-27T20:20:00.001-06:00

All right, negative things first. I hate trying to find parking. While there is a parking lot at Olivea, it's not too big and it's cramped. We drove around the block or larger immediate area before a spot opened up in the lot. Okay, that's the negative. Everything else was very positive. They had several cocktail concoctions on the menu, and my wife ordered the Lavender Lace. While the drink had incredible lavender flavor, it was too much like drinking a perfume. The wine list wasn't too bad. I had a Tempranillo and a Super Tuscan.
For starters, we had the special of chicken wings served over creamy polenta with a Putanesca sauce. We also had the flat bread with prosciutto and green olive and Manchego cheese. Both were excellent, though if you forced me to complain, I didn't like how the prosciutto came off after one bite. Simple, I know, but it's gets messy putting that back on. For dinner, I had the duck meatballs which also had polenta. Very different but quite good. My wife had the lamb sugo gnocchi. She compared eating the gnocchi to eating fluffy pillows. After tasting them, I couldn't argue with that comparison. It was better than much of the gnocchi we ate in Italy. Dessert was a letdown, which I believe it normally is when you're consuming trendy food. We split the sorbet which was okay but not anything exciting.
They do a great job in terms of service and food, despite our disappointment with the dessert menu. I felt it was a great value as well. Get in there soon.

Critics

2009-07-28T20:50:00.008-06:00

I've grown fond of watching the show, "Top Chef." I started with the last season in New York, I've continued to watch the "Top Chef: Masters," and am looking forward to this upcoming season in Las Vegas. One of the things that has been more noticeable is the role of the food critics. For those unfamiliar with the show, these well-known food critics evaluate and rate the food that is prepared by the chefs. Everyone is familiar with all the other food critics who may write reviews for your local paper or even magazines.

Anyways, as I watched this show, I realized something: Critics really annoy me! I'm going to throw film critics in here as well. Sure, they serve their purpose, and one could argue that they are needed. However, I would question how much they can really relate with normal society. While there is nothing wrong with being an eloquent writer and possessing a grandiose vocabulary, one could question if that's really necessary in describing food. With "Top Chef" it seems like these writers are trying to impress viewers with how detailed they can describe food and breakout colorful synonyms for the food's consistency, but we're all wondering one thing: was the food good? Why this rant, you may ask? Here's the thing, I know good food, I'm extremely passionate about food, and I like to talk about food, but I'll never be a food critic. Why? Because I'm not a great writer (maybe not even a good writer). So why should writing Hemingway-esque reviews of restaurants matter? I don't know. Apparently, someone somewhere decided that restaurant reviews should be so colorful that no one could read the black-and-white: did you like the restaurant? Many of these critics write/speak with such arrogance about food and restaurants that you might think they were once chefs, but the profession bored them. I tend to think that they weren't quite good enough to write novels so they settled for writing about food. Film critics are exactly the same. There's no need to only give good reviews to independent movies and completely ignore big blockbusters. I don't care what a film critic thinks, I'm going to listen to people I know, not some moron who probably wears an ascot to the movie theater.

This leads me to my next point. Have you ever seen a job opening for a food critic? Before you go surfing on Monster or Craigslist, know this, you won't find anything. No one is looking for a food critic, but they should be. They should be looking for someone who doesn't attempt to impress people with words but attempts to tell the diner about the restaurant itself. What did the food taste like, how was the service, were there a bunch of people taking doggie bags out, etc.

Critics, don't try to garner some great book deal with your local reviews. Remember, you're not a chef, you can't cook as good as one, otherwise you would have a restaurant. I hate seeing chefs stutter around critics and lower their head as they receive a bad review. While reviews are necessary, critics need to get off their high horse and realize they aren't better than everyone just because they didn't have to apply for their job. It most likely fell in their lap.

Author's note: I do believe that there are some good food critics out there, not a lot, just some. I'd love to hear their opinion of the growing popularity of sites like Yelp where "regulars" can provide reviews of restaurants.

Mass Produced Service?

2009-07-02T17:32:00.005-06:00

We've all had a bad experience at a restaurant in which we wondered if the waiter/waitress even knew we existed. Perhaps an entire meal passed without water being filled or every other table appeared to receive bread with their meal, except you or they were just flat out rude. Now we can probably account for some bad service being related to someone having a bad day or if you always encounter bad service, you might be the issue; however, there are some serious problems. My simple argument might be that the more you pay, the better service you receive. We all know that's not the case. So what's the problem?

Henry Ford is the father of the assembly line and mass production. He revolutionized the way a factory works. He made production much more efficient and larger quantities were easier to come by. Do you know where I'm going with this? This process should not be carried onto food. If you're making something for a big banquet, okay, that's fine, but at a regular restaurant, unacceptable. At least I wish it was unacceptable. We're used to efficiency and making sure that things can be done faster. Do you really want this approach at a restaurant? Do you want to be treated like a product that comes down the conveyor belt? A customer should be treated like the restaurant is happy to have their service, like the customer is doing them a favor by showing up. There's a great scene in the TV show, That 70's Show (which obviously takes place in the 1970's) where a couple go out to a restaurant (conveniently named, Blannagan's) at the advent of the salad bar. The waiter informs them that they can go up to the salad bar and choose whatever toppings they'd like. The couple is baffled and the husband asks why his wife would want to go out to a restaurant and make her own salad when she could do that at home. Why don't we question this anymore? Go get your own food? No, I go out because I don't want to make my own food. I want to feel like I'm paying for something other than groceries.

I understand that being a waiter/waitress is not an enjoyable job and not necessarily something one aspires to do. However, it's still a job that you're being paid to do. There are restaurants out there that value the customer and value service towards them. Rather than having the attitude of "You need us to eat," these places have the attitude of "We need you to eat." The obsession with big business and the bottom line every night obscures many restaurants from providing quality service and ensuring long term success and customer loyalty. Oddly enough, all restaurants thrive on the customer coming into eat there. If you think about it, do all restaurants act like the customer is their raison d'etre? No, the customer is a product that needs to be quickly shot through the line so the next product can be prepped. Try this the next time you have people over. Greet them gruffly at the door, take away their salad before they're done, serve dinner before they're ready, and keep looking at the door until they leave. See if they return.

Panzano Happy Hour Review

2009-05-30T00:49:00.003-06:00

Okay, I have not been offered any money by Panzano's, but I'm beginning to believe I should be. I have told everyone I know about this happy hour. I first visited Panzano years ago for 5280 week and had an enjoyable experience and looked forward to going back. For whatever reason I stayed away. However, an article in the Wall St. Journal caught my eye, and it briefly mentioned Panzano's Happy Hour. After viewing their menu, I immediately decided I would be back for at least one hour of happy. Two weeks ago I went, and I was happy. So happy that I returned this past week, and we'll return next week (Wednesday, look for me). $3 beers, $3 appetizers, and $4 small plates. I had a beer, very tasty calamari, not too tough, a delicious small plate of steak, mashed potatoes and a spinach/arugula blend all for $10. The sad fact is that this is the cost of a Qdoba burrito and a drink. The quality levels aren't even close. This filled me up, not fat-style but European-style (meaning I didn't want to puke after I finished). I highly recommend their happy hour. The odds of you being disappointed are slim. If you are disappointed, you're probably difficult to please.

How We Roll

2009-05-29T23:52:00.004-06:00

I had a couple of points of inspiration for this post. Most recently was an article in the Wall Street Journal. Famed New York restaurateur Danny Meyer discusses the dining industry and where he sees it going as a result of the economic downturn. He mentioned how he expected fewer fine-dining establishments, which makes sense, and a different view of food. This quote, in particular, concerned me: "People are thinking about how much of their time they have to spend, how much of their stomach they are going to fill and how many of their dollars they will have to part with." My problem with this quote is that I believe people (Americans) are already doing this and have been doing this for a long time. My question is should we expect it to get worse?

This leads me to my other inspiration for this post, Wal-Mart. I know you've heard me talk about it before and maybe you think that I've killed that topic; however, it needs to be brought up again. It seems like the big issue mentioned above is money and time. In the current climate, most are short on money and everyone wants more time. The important thing to note is that both can be managed, and although you can increase the amount of money you have, time is finite.

I know I've made my case quite clear on how I think one shouldn't skimp on food, and I still strongly support my stance. Perhaps if I illustrate it in a different way, one might better understand my view. Let's examine what I'll call the Quality/Cost Analysis. Think of your basic X/Y Axis. On the X axis, you have quality, on the y axis, cost. Let's assume that as cost increases, quality also increases and vice versa. America is comfortable sitting at the corner of cost and quality. We're more than willing to sacrifice quality for a cheaper price. Guess what? This is where Wal-Mart comes in (note: I am not attacking Wal-Mart, but they are easiest to use in this illustration). Has Wal-Mart programmed us to look for the best deal regardless of the quality of the product? I know many people who will stop by Wal-Mart for a couple of things but refuse to step foot in their produce section. Why? Because Wal-Mart doesn't work as hard as other grocers in ensuring the quality of their product. On the way to providing you the cheapest price, something has to be sacrificed. Think about this the next time you choose a restaurant for your birthday or some other special occasion. Save some money and go somewhere where quality is valued.

My other target is McDonald's, fast food's founding father. In McDonald's, a culture of "not enough time" has been created. Feel free to stop by for a meal that will be ready in seconds. We can look to the Quality/Cost Analysis for a similar graph of Time/Cost Analysis. As time to prepare your food increases, so should quality. If you spend more time dedicated to something, you should produce a better product (in theory). Why don't we have enough time? Where is it we have to be? What keeps us from getting out of our cars to order food? These are valuable questions to ask. What's wrong with spending 3 hours at a restaurant with enjoyable company? Isn't this why the DVR was invented? You don't have to get back home to watch your "show."

In summary, I'm not telling you to stop shopping at Wal-Mart or to avoid the drive-thru line at McDonald's, but think about it the next time you find yourself at either place or somewhere like it. Ask yourself this, what am I sacrificing here and what am I missing elsewhere? Food may be nothing more than fuel, but humans are high-performing machines and deserve the highest quality of fuel we can find.

My Favorite Cooking Gadgets (Part 2)

2009-05-16T23:37:00.004-06:00

I promised to make this a series, and I'm afraid I have failed miserably. Not only has it been a month since my last post, it's been even longer since I professed any affinity for a cooking gadget. I knew it was time for another post, so I started glancing around the kitchen. What gadget/tool deserves my praise? Seeing the Santoku knife sitting by the sink waiting to be washed yet again, I had my answer. You see, hand washing is necessary for good knives, if you want them to retain their sharpness. They tend to dull out quickly in the dishwasher. This knife spends a lot of time sitting by the sink, not out of neglect but out of good use. I end up using this knife daily. Even though I have knives that are properly labeled utility knives, this one is my 'go-to knife.' In baseball, it might be a solid middle reliever. In football, it might be a quality tight end that can catch and block. (I have to use sports analogies to further prove my masculinity since I'm writing a love post to my knife).

So, what makes this knife so great? First off, what makes any knife great is how sharp it is. For those of you who don't care about this, you don't know what you are missing with a sharp knife. I recently cut an onion, or I should say, attempted to cut an onion with a dull knife, and it was the most frustrating thing. I put so much force into slicing through it, that I was afraid I was going to slice right through the onion into my hand. However, I realized the knife was incapable of penetrating my skin. Sharp knives make you look like an accomplished chef. The above picture shows my knife with one of the most commonly chopped items in my kitchen, the zucchini. A good knife moves through vegetables like soft butter. Unfortunately, a good knife will move through your skin without you feeling it until you see blood. The key is knowing how to use it. Another tool that won't get its own column is the knife sharpener. It is essential in maintaining the sharpness of your knives. Maybe, if you're still reading this, you're saying to yourself: "who needs a good knife? I'm not an accomplished chef. I just cook every now and then." Well, why buy something that makes work harder? Buying a cheap knife is like buying a shovel with a hole in it. Sure, you're going to pick up some dirt, but most of it will fall through the hole making your task more frustrating. My intention wasn't to rant, but I want you to purchase one quality knife and put it to work for you. My suggestion for a cheap quality knife that does excellent work on meat or used as a paring knife. This one here comes in a set. Remember, just because it comes to a point and it's shiny doesn't make it a good knife.

Misunderstood

2009-04-15T20:55:00.007-06:00

I'm not picky, and I don't think I'm better than you. It gets old defending myself. That's right, I'm misunderstood. I know there's other foodies out there who have been accused of being horrible people. I'm hoping this post will help both sides. Listed below are several myths and explanations about those who enjoy good food.

If it's cheap, it's not good enough. Money doesn't matter when it comes to food. Ever heard of the term, hole in the wall? These are places that may look a little sketchy on the inside, but serve great food at a reasonable price. The key is not letting money be your only reason for seeking a restaurant. Don't worry about what a great deal you're getting, worry about how it tastes.
Portions have to be tiny. Ummmmm, not really. I recently posted about America's lust for the doggy bag. The reason good restaurants don't bombard you with a large portion is because their goal is to make you feel content when you leave the restaurant, not uncomfortable. All-you-can-eat buffets aren't known for their quality just their quantity. Remember, don't obsess about the deal.
You're picky. No. This may be my least favorite of the myths. Picky is excluding all sorts of foods and being afraid to taste new things. Placing high regard on quality is not being picky, it's just having high expectations. I like fresh things, so sue me.
Chain restaurants are evil. Honestly, there are some horrible chains out there that have ruined food for Americans, Olive Garden being one of my least favorite. However, there are some great ideas that have popped up and become so popular that they launch into chains. If chains are managed right, they can be a good thing. Many of them just concern themselves with being like Wal-Mart and go after being the cheapest. Being cheap all around doesn't always buy one fresh ingredients. You have to be careful.
I don't know enough to be a "foodie." Being into food is not like being into wine. It's really not all that complicated. As I've mentioned before, we've all had an amazing meal and know what greatness tastes like. Remember that meal and compare it against future dishes.
Food is too big of a deal. Okay, this is not really a myth. Food IS a big deal. How often do you eat? Can you even quantify it? All of the time, right? I think we don't take food seriously enough. With how much food we consume, why don't we care more about how it tastes or how good the quality is?

We are a misunderstood people. Non-foodies, use these myths to better understand us. Foodies, be sensitive to non-foodies and encourage them to become one of us. Non-foodies, maybe your stomach is growling, not because you're hungry, but because of what you're putting in it.

Portions

2009-03-29T00:24:00.004-06:00

What's impressive? Size? Big house? Big car? Big TV? Super-size it. That's our culture. The more we get, the better it is, right? Sure, I would rather watch sports on a bigger TV and have the luxury of a larger house, but what do I gain from a bigger meal?

Super-size it, Biggie-size, King-size are all synonymous with an overindulgence in food, fast food more specifically. While it's easy to pick on fast food, since they're an obvious target, it's almost not fair. While many crave fast food and sit in long drive-thru lines, there is an understanding that it's not great for you. Let me pick on a place that I have previously targeted, Maggiano's. For those of you unfamiliar with the place, it's a rather popular Italian restaurant that is a part of the same parent company as Macaroni Grill and Chili's. One would say that it is probably more high-end than the others, however it's by no means upscale. I have never seen any one leave this restaurant without a doggie bag. I have a sneaking suspicion that this is Maggiano's goal. Their hope is that you are so full, you take leftovers home. The food is okay, but that's all it is. Instead of producing great food, they wow with huge portions. Similar to a magician using misdirection, they have you excited about how much food you're getting that you don't notice the lack of quality. Remember, we like everything big. We want to think that we're getting a good deal. "Look at all this food for a great price!" "Wow, and I get to take home leftovers for tomorrow!" Is that why you go out to dinner? You hope for another meal for the next day? How is that different from grocery shopping? What's impressive about a restaurant giving you more food than you can possibly consume in one sitting?

To me, it's all about quality--not quantity. I know I'm always mentioning Europe, but they've set a pretty great standard when it comes to eating. Your meal comes out, and you might think, "this isn't enough food;" however, when you're plate is clear, you're full. Note, this isn't an uncomfortable full, a full that requires a desire for an elastic waistband. It is a contented full. You no longer want more food, but you're not in pain. Unfortunately, I've been within earshot of American tourists in Europe who complain about the size of their meal. They think they're getting ripped off because it's not enough food to take home. Sadly, we're pre-programmed to think that we need a lot of food. There are some great domestic restaurants that refuse to cater to our American ways. They insist that they're going to serve an amazing meal in a small (read normal) sized portion. To the uncultured eye, you might think this is not worth the cost until you move your fork to your mouth. There is nothing greater than realizing that a chef sacrificed quantity for quality. Eating a small plate of homemade pasta is far better than several pounds of dried pre-packaged pasta. When I leave a restaurant, I don't hope to be a holding a bag full of what I couldn't finish, I hope to be holding on to the memory of a fantastic meal and hopes to return again.

(My goal isn't to put down anyone that likes this type of food or accuse you of being uncultured. My goal is to get you to question how you think about eating. Do you want quality? If so, seek it. I promise you'll be greatly rewarded.)

My Favorite Cooking Gadgets (Part 1)

2009-03-22T16:09:00.005-06:00

How should this be written? A poem or an ode of some sort? That's probably a bit on the odd side, but you don't see enough chefs talk about what gadget they can't live without. Not that I'm a chef, but I do enjoy cooking often. I thought, why not feature a gadget that makes life easier? First up, is the great food processor. Some people don't know what they're missing with the absence of this wonderful piece of machinery. I still am coming up with new ways to use it. My personal favorite is in the making of guacamole. Throw in some peeled avocados, barely chopped tomatoes, cloves of garlic, cilantro leaves, lime juice, salt, and pepper and press 'ON,' briefly. Just like that, you have delicious guacamole. Now, I'm not trying to sound like an infomercial, but it makes some stuff a lot easier. Mincing garlic, done. Chopping larger vegetables, done. Making a pie crust, done. Pureeing soup, done. Throw on a different attachment and you can easily grate cheese and julienne vegetables, such as squash or zucchini. This was featured first because it's probably my favorite gadget. Some of the things it has done for me are, mix ice cream ingredients, make guacamole, puree soup, grate cheese, julienne vegetables, chop herbs, and puree fruit.

If you don't have one, I highly encourage that you make the investment. It will make your kitchen work much easier.

Cravings

2009-03-13T17:19:00.002-06:00

I enjoy eating. I think I've made that rather obvious by now. One of my favorite things about eating is having a craving, particularly a craving that you know will be satisfied. The easiest example is Thanksgiving. You almost always know what food is coming, and you usually look forward to at least one of the dishes.

When I visit my homeland of Texas, I always begin craving Mexican food. I get excited a few weeks before, waiting for some delicious Tacos Norteños. The anticipation is almost as great as the experience itself. Sometimes, during the week, I crave bacon. I really really like bacon. Sure enough, I have to satisfy that craving on the weekend with some toast and eggs. Mmmmmm.

The most difficult cravings are those that occur during the day. As I mentioned before, we're Americans, so we have no patience, especially with food. During the day, I can rarely satisfy those cravings, so I have to wait. Other times, there's no chance of satisfying those cravings. Do you know how many places in Denver serve escargot? (The answer is not many). There is nothing worse than craving something that seems far away. A meal you had long ago in a small town in France. Or the meal you used to always eat at your favorite restaurant, but they've since shut down. Or my craving for Mexican food that cannot be quenched within Colorado.

I guess the question is, is it better to crave and not satisfy than to never crave at all?

What are your cravings?

Denver Restaurant Week (Finale)

2009-03-06T23:08:00.007-07:00

My favorite time of year has finally come to an end. I was able to knock out four restaurants, which is definitely an improvement over last year's two. Was it worth the cost? You bet. Should I have done one more? I'll probably be asking myself that last question until 2010's Restaurant Week. Some people may question going out four separate times at approximately $52.80 per meal, but doesn't everyone has something they spend money on? What better way to sample some of Denver's finest restaurants? Other people are sitting at home microwaving dinner while I'm enjoying a three-course dinner, so I don't feel guilty about the price.
We ended our two weeks of epicurean bliss at Kevin Taylor at the Opera House. It was a wonderful setting for a restaurant. They set the mood of lounging in an open wheat field under the stars. The tables are set rather spaced apart under a ceiling not unlike a planetarium with maple wood floors. Walking down the stairs towards the host stand reminds one of parading gallantly into a palatial ball. At least that's what I imagine a palatial ball would be like. The service is reminiscent of other Kevin Taylor restaurants, in which one is treated with delicate professionalism. I cannot give them ratings as high as Restaurant Kevin Taylor, however they did very well. I began the evening with the Roasted Red Kuri Squash Purée. It was excellently displayed in the bowl with a thinly sliced piece of Granny Smith apple and the cardamom cream. The soup was then poured into the bowl at the table. There was an excellent contrast of savory and sour with the creaminess of the soup and the tartness of the apple. The main course was a Dry-Aged Colorado Strip Loin served with Yukon Gold Potato Mousseline, Broccoli Rabe and topped with a dab of Prosciutto Butter. It was an excellent portion and of course everything complemented each other. I was able cut my steak with a butter knife, which certainly signifies a good cut. Last and not least was dessert. I went with the Milk Chocolate Bombe, Housemade Toffee, Malted Anglaise, Cajeta Caramel. To be fair, I'm not a big chocolate fan. Chocolate on the dessert menu is probably one of the last things I'll choose next to a bread pudding. That being said, they nailed this one for me. Despite it being completely chocolate on the outside and on the inside, it was not overwhelmingly chocolatey. Am I making sense? I feel like this dessert would unite chocolate and non-chocolate lovers.
It was a wonderful meal and a great ending to two delicious weeks even if it wasn't the best meal out of the four. As I've mentioned before on this blog, get out there and have a good meal. Enjoy the experience and savor it.

Denver Restaurant Week (Part 3)

2009-02-27T22:20:00.004-07:00

Part 3 means we, my wife, Julie, and I, went to our third restaurant. Tonight's winner was Elway's in Cherry Creek. This place has consistently been fairly top-rated on many of the review sites, so I figured this would be a good opportunity to see if I'm missing anything. I kind of expected this place to be too snotty for my taste, but I was surprised to see a friendly hostess and to be promptly seated at 8:00. We only received one 5280 menu, and as we looked around, we realized that was the norm. I don't understand why each person would not have their own menu. I perused their wine list and was impressed to see approximately 50 selections for wines by the glass, which was split about 50/50 between reds and whites. I like it when restaurants don't immediately assume you will be drinking a bottle. Perhaps the table has different tastes in wine. They started off good here. We received bread not too long after we had been seated, which was nice; however, the bread was really boring. Julie made a good point of saying if you're paying a lot for the dinner the bread should be better than plain rustic slices. Since she's pregnant, she obviously can't drink alcohol but wanted a drink that was fun. We told the waiter the situation, and he was very nice about it. She asked for a strawberry daiquiri, but they don't have blenders. Really? That's rather odd to me. Anyway, he said he would have the bartender make her something fruity, which was nice.
She started with the Caesar salad, and I had the charred red pepper soup. Mine was presented nicely in a very small iron pot. It came with a random piece of toasted bread with something drizzled on it. I wasn't sure if I was supposed to eat it or put in my soup. I opted to do both. My problem with the menu was that they lacked descriptions of what anything was. For example, I ordered the soup, but I didn't know what was drizzled on top of it or what other flavors were in the soup. That's information I like to have. For dinner, Julie had the salmon and I went with 10-ounce sirloin (medium rare). She said her salmon was the driest she had ever had. My sirloin was more on the rare side, but it was a thick cut, so that made sense. The cut of meat was a lot better than what I expected. It was seasoned very well, not overpowering. For sides, she got the mashed potatoes, and I had the creamed corn. I didn't try the potatoes, but she said they were good. The creamed corn was great. It wasn't too soggy or overwhelmingly creamy. The corn had just enough pop to it and just the right amount of sweetness. For dessert, we had no choice. They came out with their cheesecake/brownie lollipops. Now I was under the impression that they were a combined cheesecake/brownie experience not two different lollipops, but no, that's not the case. Anyways, they were blah. Considering this appears to be the signature dessert, it stunk. The only positive thing was how I thought the outside chocolate was a wrapper because it had Elways written on it, but other than that. . . The brownie piece was way too cakey and "out-of-the-box" tasting. The cheesecake piece was too sour and creamy.
The service was very good. They were fairly absent for most of the meal, but my water glass never went empty. In the end, Elway's was decent, however I think the restaurant thinks it is better than it actually is. Examining their non-5280 menu, I felt they had too many items on the menu. I think they'd do a lot better by focusing on fewer items and making those stronger.

Denver Restaurant Week (Part 2)

2009-02-26T22:27:00.004-07:00

So it was back to our favorite restaurant. We hit up Restaurant Kevin Taylor tonight. As usual, it did not disappoint. It was definitely the most crowded we had ever seen it, and it was a little loud. Our one complaint is that we were a bit rushed. Keep in mind I don't mean rushed like Olive Garden rushed. This is normally a very relaxed place with a European-style of service. Tonight, we felt as though they might need our table. However, no food came out before the other course was through.
I started with the pork belly, which was very tender. For dinner, I had the sirloin and braised short-ribs, also very tender. I finished the night off with the crème brûlée, which is always done well. Accompanying my dinner, was a nice Bordeaux. The interesting part of the night was watching this couple having a very nasty fight, but trying to keep it civil. They spent about an hour there and never ordered. The man stormed off several times. Finally, they both stormed off. We passed them on the street arguing, and the man was crying. Interesting situation. I'm not sure why I felt the need to share that.

Denver Restaurant Week (Part 1)

2009-02-24T21:46:00.004-07:00

Oh yes, it's my favorite time of year. Denver Restaurant Week has finally arrived!!! Can you feel the excitement? I expend so much energy in the weeks preceding this event trying to get people to make reservations. Am I heard? No. Do people care? No. What do I hear after the event starts or is over? "I forgot that was this week, and now I can't get in to any places." That's why you plan ahead. Roughly 225 restaurants are participating this year and about 160 have agreed to extend the $52.80 deals one extra week. How great is that? This year is a new record for me. I have signed up for 4 restaurants, one of which is my regular place, Restaurant Kevin Taylor. Tonight, we kicked off Denver Restaurant Week at Lucy. Below is my review of the place.

Yeah, I NEVER complain about service. I usually give everyone an excuse for any service issues, but this was too annoying. Most people's complaint of service is generally along the lines of poor, rude, or inattentive service. This was just annoying. We were promptly seated in a relatively quiet area of the restaurant and greeted by a very nice waitress. Our issues were how quickly she wanted to take our order and how dessert was presented to us. My wife and I were not eating fast, but definitely not being slow. It's Restaurant Week and for a 3-course meal, I'm going to take my time. She put out the silverware for our dessert while we were still eating, asked my wife if she wanted a doggy bag while she was mid-bite, and brought out our desserts while we were still eating dinner. She asked if she should take them back, and I was so thrown off by the action that it took me a moment to say yes. Let me say that she was very nice about it and never pushy, but what a horrible way to serve a table. Also, (and this is just my own quirkiness) she kept pacing around our area not doing anything. From my count, she had four tables under her command. Each table appeared to be relatively low maintenance, yet she hovered around like a Chinook trying to find a place to land in a rain forest. Every five seconds, I heard her swish by. I wanted to yell, "nothing else has changed, I'm still chewing the same bite you watched me put into my mouth moments ago!" I've said it before and I'll say it again, that's America, it's a problem. We like to rush you out the door. The worst part of it was that the place wasn't that crowded and there was definitely no one waiting for our table.
Now that I'm done with my complaint, I will say that the food was quite good and the menu did look impressive. I really enjoyed their wine selection by the glass, which was a lot larger than most places. I'm not sure that this place is ready to charge as much as it does for food. The service level does not really match the price. However, I do believe it has potential and is worth trying if you're in the neighborhood.

Food & Music

2009-01-31T13:41:00.001-07:00

I have a confession: I don't know a lot about music. If I hear something I really like on the radio, I'll try to find the artist and obtain the song. However, if you start talking about random artists, I'm probably not familiar with them. Sure, I have heard of the mainstream singers, people whose names are on the top 10 lists of many publications. Any names that aren't on that list are probably unfamiliar to me. I'm not going to wow you by telling you about some singer who you have to hear. I'm more apt to say, "did you hear that new Coldplay song, Trouble?" Imagine my surprise when you tell me that song is at least 8 or 9 years old (I had to look that up).
The truth is I tend to listen to the same music. Even if an artist I like releases a new song, I'm a little skeptical, but I won't venture out of my comfort zone. Someone might recommend some new singer, but it will be a real stretch for me to start liking someone new. When it comes down to it, I need someone who knows music to push me into other artists, to pull me out of the comfort zone, and assure me it's going to be all right.
Have you figured out where I'm going with this? Food isn't all that different. We are all used to the familiar foods we grew up with. There are certain restaurants we frequent, and we're never sure what to think of the new place that opens up in our area. When someone asks if we tried French food, we might turn up our noses and say, "I would never eat French." It's no different than the people who listen to all types of music, EXCEPT country. They're accustomed to think that country music is not "cool." The same applies for those who won't eat French food. The French are snobby, they hate Americans, their food is too pretentious. These are all excuses, but none really excuse you from trying it. I use French food as an example, but this applies to all types of food. How do you really know you wont' like French food? Maybe Escargot is the best thing you'll ever eat. We need a friend to make us try something new and to stretch us.
There is nothing more comfortable than that which is familiar, but there is nothing more exciting than that which is unknown. Expand your zone of comfort.

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Now playing: Coldplay - Trouble
via FoxyTunes

America's Food Habits

2009-01-12T20:42:00.003-07:00

I pondered an interesting question the other day: What does what we eat say about us? On a grander scale, what does what or how Americans eat say about us? I've mentioned my frustration with the new Jack-n-the Box being crowded 24/7 with lines of cars circling the drive thru. You know my general take on chain restaurants and their desire to push you out of their restaurant. Are you seeing the general theme yet? Think about this scenario, have you ever been at a restaurant and felt rushed as they bring out your entree when you're still eating your salad? Have you craned your neck trying to get the waiter's attention for your check because you're in a rush to leave? We lack patience, whether it be the waiter pushing us through our meal or our desire to quickly gulp down dinner. Life happens much too fast here. We're used to getting information at a high rate of speed. I recently purchased an iPhone and can get any tidbit of information right this second. I love it, but I'm spoiled by it.
Unfortunately, this attitude affects the way we eat. We want our food right now. We hate to wait for things to materialize. What's wrong with waiting? What's the downside of patience? When things get done quickly, they're often done in a sloppy manner. The end-result: a poorly made house, a botched surgery, a junky PC, or a less than appetizing meal. Patience can pay off. Waiting can win out. Who has ever told you their best meal was enjoyed after pulling out of the drive thru? What amazingly delicious thing came out of the microwave? Spend a day and gather some fresh ingredients and prepare a multi-course meal at home. Go out to a restaurant that respects your time, and enjoy a slow meal.
Some of the best moments in life occur when we slow down and wait. We hear things we never heard before, we smell new things, and experience tastes previously unknown. Perhaps, you'll learn a bit more about yourself and someone else. Relax.

New Rant

2009-01-01T20:50:00.002-07:00

With all of the food being served and made this holiday season, we inevitably deal with leftovers. Part of this is related to our desire to make more food than is necessary. There is the fear of not having enough food for people. I fall into this fear, but I wonder if this is somewhat of an American concept. We tend to view quantity as the important factor instead of quality. I recently visited Maggiano's Italian restaurant for a work-related lunch. For those of you unfamiliar with this place, it specializes in large portions. One of its notable traits is the family-style dining option it offers. My problem with this restaurant is the obsession to serve large amounts of food. I'm not sure that I've ever seen someone leave this place without a doggy bag. With such large portions, they tend to skimp on quality, and I'm not sure how they couldn't. This brings me back to leftovers. Most food is not meant to be reheated, and therefore, doesn't taste as good. Sadly, we have a fridge full of leftovers in which most will be thrown out. I don't like drying out meat in the microwave or hardening pasta. What's the solution, less is more? I'm not sure, but I hope to not get obsessed with quantity and lose my sight on quality.

Holiday Eating

2008-12-21T19:17:00.004-07:00

Attending all of the parties this time of year and seeing all of the Christmas specials on the Food Network, I'm reminded just how many unique foods there are this time of year. To be quite honest, I never think of Christmas as being a time of particularly wonderful food, but I am now thinking of it as a time of great nostalgic food. This time of year presents so many great food memories for me. Many of them revolve around desserts of course. Sugar cookies and Buckeyes are my favorite remembered foods. Although, some other greats that my mom used to make include, Hungarian Horns, Candy Cane Cookies, and Jelly Thumbprint Cookies. Even though Buckeyes are a real pain to make, having to individually roll these sticky peanut butter concoctions by hand, and later hand-dip each ball in chocolate, the taste of the chocolate/peanut butter combination is well worth the effort. Simple things like fudge and sugar cookies are exciting this time of year. These tastes take me back many years to the excitement of the pending day. I love the memories these foods create and hope you are enjoying creating your own for years to come.

Thanksgiving

2008-11-28T15:07:00.004-07:00

So this is the big eating day. We're supposed to feast on tons of food. All people do is talk about how much they ate and how they are stuffed. I ask this though, is this the best we got? I am very unimpressed with the food at Thanksgiving. In fact, I can't ever remember liking much of what's on the table. I can't get excited about turkey. Maybe it's because I have never had it prepared in an interesting way. Sweet potatoes, stuffing, cranberry sauce, green bean casserole? Not our best effort. Sweet potatoes are too sweet for dinner. Stuffing is usually too dry or too salty. Cranberry sauce is just a horrible idea. Green bean casserole contains no natural ingredients. The entire dish can be created from cans. I find myself not stuffing myself silly. To me, this food is not anything to get worked up about. I propose something new for Thanksgiving. In the spirit of the holiday, we should make food that we are thankful for. What food do you really enjoy? What food are you thankful for and would like to share with others?

Sick

2008-11-25T20:56:00.004-07:00

I've been fighting bronchitis, so it's been a while since my last post. Being sick sucks. Aside from the aspect of being tired and feeling like crap, your appetite gets ruined. I didn't feel like eating anything for quite a while and nothing appealed. It was rough to know I should eat, but not feel like eating. I didn't have a craving for a nice meal at a restaurant or even a greasy hamburger from a dive. I'm still barely back to normal. I want to want food again. You ever have that sore throat or nasty stomachache that forces you to eat applesauce or Saltines? It's rough to drink tons of water and eat popsicles. My normal diet has been disturbed. Stomach issues are the worst because you're limited to eating things that only taste okay coming back up.
As for Thanksgiving food, I'm not worried about missing anything. I get no excitement for any of the food offered on this upcoming holiday. Mashed potatoes are about the only thing that excite me, and I won't be eating them this year. What are your Thanksgiving food musts?

More Rants

2008-11-12T18:06:00.006-07:00

Sorry, for the time since my last post, I have been under the weather. I have issues with fast food commercials and Olive Garden commercials. Must we be bombarded with horrible ads featuring morons wanting something more exciting than a burger? How about a wave of water soaks you and you're left with some nasty old shrimp and questionable white fish? That's right, try Long John Silvers!! Has this place killed any people like Jack-n-the-Box? If they haven't, I'm shocked. I am so scared of the food they serve. I would rather eat a boring burger than some random mix of chum that a shark rejected. Oh, and congratulations to the people that decided to combine Kentucky Fried Chicken, Taco Bell, and Pizza Hut. Now, rather than having to avoid all 3 of them, I can avoid one building with all three. It's like a food court where every choice is a losing one. KenTacoHut. How about a Gordita with cheese stuffed crust and some biscuits?
Now for Olive Garden. Really? You send your chefs to a cooking school in Italy? How many things are wrong with that sentence? First, they are not chefs. Chefs go to a school, chefs have a lot of skill. Cooks perform menial tasks, they combine ingredients, they follow orders. Second, what affiliation would Olive Garden have with Italy? Clearly, their food has no affiliation with anything in Italy. Yes, they do use Italian words to describe their food, but that's about it. I have not been to a restaurant in Italy that serves endless bread sticks or salad. Also, their commercials are nauseating. "I bring my Italian grandmother to Olive Garden every time she comes here." Why? Do you hate your grandmother? Do you want her to see how far behind in cooking we are? Who is buying this?
I'm done. . . for now.

My Place

2008-11-03T19:49:00.003-07:00

"Sometimes you wanna go where everybody knows your name." I have always wanted to have my restaurant that I always frequent. You know, the type of place where you know all of the waiters, they recognize you by name. Maybe they even know what dishes you prefer. It would kind of be like my own Cheers. Perhaps many of us want this type of place. I remember that throughout college my roommates and I looked for a coffee shop (despite the fact that none of us liked coffee) similar to that in Seinfeld. We wanted a place where we could all meet. Somewhere we could say, "Hey, meet me at the coffee shop." We thought we found the place, we went there once, and no one liked it. I'm sure it's harder when you live out in the suburbs and there is a high turnover in staff, but I really hope to find that place. If I were to open a restaurant, I would want to know my customers on a first-name basis. The closest thing I have right now is a barber who knows my name, and that feels pretty good. Perhaps, it's really simple on my part. I just want recognition, but I know I'm not alone. I think many of us want this place. That place where we feel like old friends catching up again. That place where it's like hanging out in the neighborhood. Maybe we've watched Norm one too many times and wanted our own Frasier to listen to our problems.

The Routine

2008-10-29T17:16:00.005-06:00

It's Pork Chop Day!! Well, it's not that routine at our house, but we get caught up in eating the same thing each week. It's partially laziness and partially a lack of creativity. Salmon is in our weekly rotation, some type of pasta, some type of pork, and perhaps a beef product. Our goal is to become more creative with what we make each week. Sure, we can eat salmon once a week, but we shouldn't prepare it the same way. It can be difficult when you're running low on time or just don't have the energy to think of something new. Let's get creative. Take two hours one day and plan out your week. Unfortunately, it feels like a chore to think of a menu. You start to feel like you're a chef planning the opening of your restaurant. It shouldn't scare us. Your challenge and mine? To create a menu for the week. Plan out the meals. I think we'll enjoy dinner time more.
On a separate note, I finally made it to Rodney's. They have pre-designed burgers or you can build your own. There's a large supply of free toppings and some premium toppings like, guacamole, bacon, and avocado. They have buffalo, beef, and maybe chicken. There are three types of fries, pencil-thin, steak fries, and sweet potato fries. It was very well made burger. Not too greasy, but not too lean. I recommend it.

Mikey Likes It!!

2008-10-27T22:42:00.007-06:00

I briefly wrote in a previous post about hating being called a "picky eater." My reason for this is because of picky eaters. I don't understand them. I do understand being a vegetarian or a vegan or having religious prohibitions or allergies, but I don't understand turning your nose up against a wide variety of things. My dad always preached to try something first before saying you don't like it. While this sometimes takes courage, it can frequently prove rewarding. Some of the best foods I have tasted were items I felt hesitant to try.
I believe there are various categories (for lack of a better word) of picky eaters. There is my personal favorite, the "no seafood" people. Really? You don't want to eat something from the ocean? I frequently wonder if these people have ever tried seafood or have tried something better than tuna in a can. Seafood produces many different flavors. To simply exclude seafood, misses out on great things like sushi, fried shrimp, sauteed scallops, mussels, grilled salmon or trout, raw oysters, or lobster. If you would you try a few things, ah forget it.
How about the "super cheap eaters?" Now don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with saving money except when you never spend a little extra for the better product. Some cuts of beef cost more, and believe me, they are worth it. Fresh produce might cost more than some of the awful produce WalMart tries to peddle, and it's worth it. Using fresh herbs versus dried, powdery herbs will produce a better quality taste. Many quality ingredients cost more and sometimes it's worth the splurge. Don't look down your noses at people who spend more money on food.
The "fast foodies" are another good one. Del Taco is all they need. "Chili's makes the best fajitas ever!" "I think the pasta at Olive Garden is Amazing!" They think homemade pasta is a joke. Making your own fajitas, why? Fast foodies and super cheaps will turn the tables on you. They will make you seem picky because Chili's doesn't do it for you or because you found a better restaurant than Olive Garden.
My last category is the "traditionalists." Apparently they decided what foods they would eat at age nine and haven't changed since. Nothing new has hit their mouth since that time. "Sushi? Sounds weird." "Gross, spinach." "Guacamole looks like baby puke." "Pepperoni only on my pizza, thank you." These people cannot branch out because it scares them too much. Generally, if it doesn't look good or sound good, they're gone. They'll probably look for hamburgers on the menu at a French restaurant or ask for a cheese quesadilla at a Mexican restaurant.
I'd love to hear anyone's suggestions for additional categories. I'm sure there are more out there. If you're a picky eater and I've offended you, I'm not sorry. Become adventurous. Try something new this week. Guess what? You just might like it.

It's Not Easy Being Foodie

2008-10-24T22:11:00.004-06:00

I have to vent first before I get into some other details. Being a foodie/food snob isn't always easy. I don't really like being called a food snob, but I can understand why I might be perceived this way. I do, however, have serious issues with being called picky. Just because one does not get excited to go to Chili's or frequent Taco Bell, does not make one picky. I don't discriminate against any type of meat or exclude shellfish from my diet. The only really common ingredient I can do without is onions, but I am not going to throw a temper tantrum if they're included. Being picky is not being open to different types of foods. Do any of you other foodies run into this or is it just me?
Now on to some other things. I mentioned in an earlier post that I had made some pizza, and I want to encourage all of you to try this if you haven't. Making pizza dough is extremely easy. After that, it's just up to you in deciding what kind of toppings you want to put on. Pizza Margherita is a great place to start. It's simply mozzarella, tomatoes, and basil. I love the addition of a high quality extra virgin olive oil and an aged balsamic vinegar. O & Co has some of the best choices of olive oil and balsamic vinegar in the world. Trust me on how amazing they are. They vary in tastes just like wines .
Another good dish I tried this week was a spinach and penne pasta. You take spinach, garlic, goat cheese, cream cheese, salt, and pepper, and you puree it in a food processor. Next, you pour it over the cooked penne and serve over a bed of wilted spinach. It was awesome and relatively easy. I added some chopped chicken to this just to have some meat.

What are you making?

Recents & Rants

2008-10-22T20:56:00.004-06:00

Some recent food I've enjoyed. I made some pizza on Saturday, one was a caprese pizza, fresh mozzarella, diced tomatoes, fresh basil, topped with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. The second was goat cheese and roasted red pepper, topped with fig-infused balsamic vinegar. I was skeptical of the fig at first, but after I tasted it, I was sold. The goat cheese combination is very good. Also, went to Wahoo's on Sunday and got a shrimp burrito. I was very disappointed. It tasted of dirty bell peppers and onions. I ended up spitting out a lot of the ingredients. It's sad when it comes to that. I knew I liked the shrimp tacos, I always get the shrimp tacos, and yet I got the burrito. Why do we do things like that? You know something is going to be good, you're looking forward to it, but at the last moment you change your mind. It's like what they say with multiple choice tests, go with your first instinct. I've been craving hamburgers all week, since I made a poor buffalo burger on Monday. I mixed in goat cheese with the ground buffalo, but I guess I grilled it too long. Any recommendations? Anyway, I'm craving Rodney's Hamburgers. I've never been there, but I'm hearing great things about the sweet potato fries.

Now on to my rants. This will be a frequent section. They opened up a Jack-in-the-Box near our house, and the line for the drive-thru had been a mile long for more than a week. It didn't matter what time of day it was, the line was always long. This place killed people back in the 80's, and now people are spending hours in the drive-thru just for a chance to tempt death. Really? I have never eaten here, and I don't plan on ever eating there. I don't hold any contempt for fast food, as I occasionally crave a double cheeseburger from Burger King; however, can't we develop some taste buds, maybe a little bit of class? Get out of your car, march yourself into that disease-ridden place, and punch that Styrofoam smiley face right in the carrot nose. Say no to Jack!

The Food Effect

2008-10-21T17:24:00.001-06:00

You might say to yourself. I don’t really care about food all that much. As long as something tastes good, that’s all that matters. Maybe you don’t analyze flavors or complain about the lack of seasonings or blacklist certain restaurants, but you do care. Of course you do, food does something to you. It excites you or disappoints you. It gives you something to look forward to or something to dread. It provides conversation and brings people together. This is the Food Effect. Haven’t heard of the Food Effect? That is probably because I just made it up.
The Food Effect is how we are affected by food. Still shaking your head? Think about this for a moment. Have you ever been walking outside and smelled a neighbor’s grill and thought about what might be cooking? Did it make your mouth water for a juicy ribeye or some authentic BBQ? Or maybe you remember your mom telling you when you were little that you got to choose the restaurant for your birthday. You got to pick that favorite restaurant and your favorite thing to eat. Perhaps a friend invited you over to their house for dinner and you wondered what was sitting on the plate in front of you. The look and smell and taste were all unappetizing and you longed for something familiar. Did you spend time in a foreign country or maybe another part of the country and long for something from home? No matter who you are, you can identify with one of these. We all care about food, on one level or another. Some of us dive more into it than others. I challenge you to dive deeper and let the Food Effect take over. Make your own top ten list of favorite foods and go out to eat them this week. Know what affects you and go after it. Food is meant to be enjoyed, so enjoy it!

It Begins

2008-10-20T16:52:00.001-06:00

What's my story? What do I hope to accomplish here?

To put it simply, I like food. Food is good, but you already knew that. It's sad how often we eat boring crap and don't appreciate all the different tastes. Having spent some time in Europe, I've seen their passion for food and desire for freshness. There aren't a large supply of supermarkets all over the place, but there is a large supply of actual markets. Markets where fresh food is abundant. Where people pick up produce and smell it, where they talk to the fisherman about yesterday's catch, and where farmers flaunt some strong smelling cheeses.
Unfortunately, we now have WalMart and stores like it. Now I have nothing against these stores right to low prices and cheap products. The problem I have is that people try to find the cheapest deal on food with little regard for quality. We frequently don't look for the freshest product, but the cheapest. With a lack of concern for freshness, you miss out on taste. Many people don't know how much better something can taste when it hasn't been packaged and had additives injected into it. I want this blog to be an opportunity to share with you my passion for food. A chance to share restaurants I've been to, food I've eaten and made, and for you to share back. Let this be the beginning.